Review Hot Wheels: Race Off

When you think of Hot Wheels, you probably think of a kid’s toy (because that’s what it is). Hot Wheels: Race Off for Android is a Trials knock-off that is anything but a kid’s toy. In fact, I found this game to be much more challenging that other games like it.

So what exactly is a Trials knock-off? It’s a game that imitates an extremely popular game called Trials that is a physics-driven platformer. In this game, you race against a computer-controlled Hot Wheels car on tracks that are surprisingly long. Each level is unique and totally handcrafted, which is awesome. The gas and brake pedals will make you flip in certain directions, so you need to balance which you use in order to survive.

Unlike Trials, Hot Wheels has a progression system that you’ll need to use in order to keep progressing in the game. As things get more difficult, you’ll need to upgrade parts to go faster, further and become more stable. Sometimes I felt like purchasing upgrades was almost counter intuitive at first because I would upgrade something and do worse afterward.

The level design isn’t terribly inspiring, but it’s not bad either. Everything works the way you would expect it to, and if you’re driving well, you’ll probably end up jumping over most of it anyway.

Overall, Hot Wheels: Race Off is a surprisingly good and challenging physics-based racing game. There is online multiplayer you can jump into, if you want, and plenty of upgrade options to keep you invested for quite a while.